Popularity of eye in the sky is really taking off

Updated: 2016-10-01 00:04

By ANTHONY WARREN(China Daily USA)

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Popularity of eye in the sky is really taking off

Joe Chua with his flying machine. Provided to China Daily

When Joe Chua took his drone to Taiwan last year, he intended to capture footage of one of Asia’s most stunning vistas at Alishan National Scenic Area.

Located in the island’s Chiayi county, the area is famous for its rugged beauty and forested mountaintops.Instead, Chua suddenly realized that he, and not the breathtakingly beautiful landscape, was the center of attention.

“Drones bring people together,” the Hong Kong-based Singaporean executive, who maintains a blog that contains travel photography and drone footage, told China Daily.

“Whenever I fly my drone — be it in Taiwan, Australia or even Singapore — strangers do come and chat.” Curiosity about drones, Chua said, is almost universal.

Thirty years ago, owning a pager put you among the technological elite, a professional with a need to be reached on the go.

The now ubiquitous cell phone, laptop and tablet computer all started with professionals, shifting from workplace to the public before blurring the lines between the two.

Although the first drone users certainly were professionals (predominantly military pilots), the surge of sales in the civilian market over the last five years has been almost exclusively the domain of hobbyists.

Yet, things are set to change. Increasing numbers of drone or unmanned aerial vehicle owners, whether individuals or businesses, are looking to turn their flying machines from a toy or camera-on-wings into a viable, moneymaking commercial endeavor.

“What has been really interesting to see is the wide variety of uses that unmanned technology has been put to,” said Gary Clayton of the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Systems Association.

A British non-profit organization, the association represents and promotes the drone industry in Europe and worldwide.

“Years ago the view was that, when they were allowed in the airspace, the only jobs (drones) could do would be those considered too dull, dirty or dangerous for a human,” he added.

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